We are excited to introduce the newly appointed leads of two pivotal Working Groups within our Advertising & Media Committee: the Addressability & Measurement Working Group and the Connected TV (CTV) Working Group.
As our industry continues to navigate rapid shifts in privacy, technology, and media consumption, these two Working Groups are essential in driving clarity, consensus, and practical guidance for the European digital advertising ecosystem.
Introducing the CTV Working Group Lead
As CTV continues to grow in importance for advertisers and publishers, the CTV Working Group supports the development and maturity of the CTV ecosystem across Europe. The group focuses on developing industry-agreed definitions, establishing measurement guidelines, and supporting the adoption of technical standards to enable a scalable and transparent market.
We are pleased to welcome Will Hunter, Director, SpringServe EMEA (Magnite), as the new Lead of this group, who will help guide our efforts in supporting the industry as it navigates ongoing change within the CTV advertising landscape. His leadership will be instrumental in driving collaboration, addressing key challenges, and supporting the continued growth and maturity of CTV across Europe.
Commenting on his newly appointed position, Will said, “I’m excited to step into the role for the CTV working group. The growth of Connected TV across Europe over the past few years has been both remarkable to watch and rewarding to be part of. As more digital-first platforms emerge, I’m looking forward to helping bring new and established players together, ensuring a unified and well-supported path as we enter the next stage of CTV development in Europe.”
Introducing the Addressability & Measurement Working Group Lead
The Addressability & Measurement Working Group supports stakeholders in understanding the impact of privacy regulations and in advancing new approaches to addressability and measurement. The group focuses on promoting privacy-first solutions and practical guidance to enable effective and responsible advertising.
We are pleased to welcome Monica Rodriguez Paz, Managing Director - Southern Europe, Utiq, representing IAB Spain, as the new group lead, who will help guide our efforts in supporting the industry as it navigates ongoing change in addressability and measurement. Her leadership will be instrumental in advancing the group’s work to support responsible, privacy-first addressability and measurement practices.
Of her new role, Monica commented, “I’m honoured to take on this new role leading the Addressability & Measurement Working Group at IAB Europe. Our industry is at a pivotal moment, where balancing innovation with consumer trust is more crucial than ever. Together with IAB Spain, I look forward to fostering collaboration and driving practical, privacy-first solutions that help build a more transparent, interoperable, and sustainable advertising ecosystem for all market participants.”
Interested in Getting Involved?
To learn more about the CTV and Addressability & Measurement Working Groups and how to get involved, visit our website or contact communication [at] iabeurope.eu.
Will Hunter - Director, SpringServe EMEA (Magnite)
A CTV specialist, Will's spent the last 9 years with Magnite (in its various forms as SpotX, Telaria, SpringServe). He spent 8 of those years in the US market, most recently leading OEM growth with clients such as LG and Vizio. My role had me straddling DSP, SSP, and Ad Server relations in order to provide a top level strategic understanding of the entire ecosystem.
Monica Rodriguez Paz - Managing Director - Southern Europe, Utiq - Representing IAB Spain
As Managing Director for Utiq in Southern Europe, Monica has driven the launch and growth of privacy-first addressability solutions, with her previous roles at Salesforce and Telefónica giving her a deep expertise in data-driven advertising ecosystems.
Throughout her career, Monica has led high-performing, multicultural teams and forged effective collaboration across brands, publishers, and technology partners. She combines strong commercial and strategic leadership with a commitment to responsible, innovative advertising practices.
Retail Media keeps growing, but for agencies, one problem hasn’t gone away: how do you confidently assess performance when measurement varies by retailer?
That was the starting point for our recent agency breakfast, hosted in partnership with one of our audit partners, ABC UK, earlier this week. Not a sales session. Not a product demo. Just an open conversation with leading agency representatives at the forefront of Retail and Commerce media.
As Jason Wescott, Global Head of Commerce at WPP Media & Chair of our Retail & Commerce Media Committee, set out at the start of the discussion, “Fragmentation is the enemy of scale”.
With Retail Media increasingly moving into core media plans rather than sitting in a silo, agencies are under growing pressure to compare performance, justify investment, and scale activity across retailers and markets. Doing that becomes extremely difficult if measurement is inconsistent across media networks.
Retail Media Certification didn’t appear overnight.
At the beginning of 2024, we brought together 15 Retail Media Networks (RMNs) to talk openly about shared measurement challenges. Everyone agreed on the problem - alignment was needed. This work led to the release of the first Retail Media Measurement Standards in April 2024.
The reaction was positive, but pragmatic. Agencies and buyers welcomed the standards, while asking a critical question: how does this improve day-to-day decision making?
That challenge directly informed the next phase. In October 2024, the Certification Programme was announced, setting out how retailers could be audited against the standards. Two retailers later entered a beta phase, helping shape how the process works in practice.
In 2025, certification expanded to include ad tech, and agencies were brought into the conversation through an initial roadshow. A key milestone followed in September, when the first RMN, Albert Heijn, achieved certification.
Earlier this year, Version 2 of the Measurement Standards was released, extending the scope beyond RMNs into Commerce Media, with quick commerce firmly included.
The breakfast provided an opportunity to step back and reflect on the journey so far and dive into the value of certification from an agency point of view.
Retail Media is no longer experimental. Budgets are real, and scrutiny is real, too.
As Jason noted during the discussion, “The biggest challenge is how we scale the process of buying, and that’s very difficult if we’re not speaking the same language.” Without consistent measurement, comparing performance across retailers becomes complex and time-consuming, limiting its ability to scale.
Industry standards and certification address this by providing a clear, independent reference point for evaluating performance. Audited standards make Retail Media easier to compare without adding layers of normalisation, help establish clear baselines, and protect buyers from opaque measurement practices.
When measurement is consistent, conversations move away from debating definitions and towards outcomes. That shift is critical for trust.
For agencies, certification is not abstract. It creates a clear reference point when evaluating Retail Media performance. It makes it easier to compare results across retailers, challenge numbers when needed, and defend recommendations in front of clients.
In practical terms, agencies are already using certification to reduce reconciliation cycles, support QBR discussions, inform RFPs and procurement decisions, and accelerate approvals. When everyone agrees on how results are measured, less time is spent validating the numbers, and more time is spent improving performance.
That came through clearly in the discussion.
Agencies sit at the centre of the Retail Media ecosystem, acting as the intermediary between retailers and brands.
With finite budgets and increasing focus on ROI, agencies have a responsibility to ensure Retail Media operates with the same professionalism and consistency as other verified channels. As Jason emphasised, “Agencies are stewards for a large amount of spend. Our job is to protect clients from inconsistencies.”
Certification directly supports that role. Certified retailers make life easier for agencies: budgets are simpler to justify, scaling is more straightforward, and multi-retailer campaigns become less risky. When measurement is independently verified, agencies are better placed to challenge results, optimise activity, and have more constructive conversations with both clients and partners.
As more retailers achieve certification, Retail Media begins to behave like a mature media ‘channel’ - comparable, defensible, and easier to plan against within a total media strategy.
A key part of the conversation focused on trust.
Andy Flint, Head of Business Development at ABC UK, highlighted the risks created by self-reporting in an area of this scale. When definitions and methodologies aren’t applied consistently, reporting diverges, confidence in the data drops, and the ability to scale investment is undermined.
Certification addresses this through an independent audit. Certification is not self-declared. Auditors work directly with the organisations being certified, operating under shared guidance to ensure consistency across the programme. Their role includes defining the audit approach, reviewing documentation and deliverables, and aligning with other auditors to ensure certification outcomes are consistent across the market.
That independent layer is what turns standards into something agencies can rely on. By creating a trusted, comparable baseline, an audit reduces uncertainty for buyers. As Andy put it, “As buyers, certification means you have fewer unknowns.”
The discussion also acknowledged a broader shift underway.
Historically, Retail Media has often been sold on features rather than value. Agencies agreed that standards and certification must be value-led, clearly articulating what good measurement enables, from comparability and scalability to proving incrementality.
There was also strong recognition that measurement capability is driven by the underlying tech stack, making the inclusion of ad tech within the certification framework essential. Greater transparency at this level will significantly improve brand understanding and confidence.
There’s no need to wait for the market to catch up.
Agencies can already ask retailers whether their measurement is certified, reference certification in RFPs and procurement discussions, and encourage uncertified Retail Media Networks to engage with the programme. Certification status can be used today as a signal of readiness for scaled, multi-retailer, or multi-market investment.
Education also emerged as a priority. Upskilling teams on metrics, clearly communicating what the standards mean, and reinforcing the agency's role as strategic advisors, not just buyers, were highlighted as important.
The message from the breakfast was clear.
For Retail Media to mature, it must be measured and audited with the same rigour as other major media channels. Standards create alignment, but audit creates confidence, enabling Retail and Commerce Media to be planned, evaluated, and scaled alongside other verified investments.
That independent layer is what turns standards into something agencies can rely on.
The Retail Media Certification Programme is open to all retailers and ad tech companies. Visit our Certification page to learn more about the programme, understand the audit requirements, and find out how to start the process today.
You can also email the team at retailmediastandards [at] iabeurope.eu.
Building on the momentum from our first CTV workshop in Brussels, we hosted our second Connected TV (CTV) Workshop in London, kindly hosted by FreeWheel.
The workshop brought together representatives from Amazon Ads, EGTA, FreeWheel, IAB UK, MFE, RTE, and Samsung Ads to continue sell-side industry discussions around CTV value, measurement, and standardisation.
The session opened with a fundamental icebreaker: how do we explain CTV in plain terms?
Participants broadly aligned on CTV as a modern form of television, combining the premium, big-screen viewing experience with digital-like flexibility and data. The discussion also reinforced that CTV is not a single, uniform environment, with delivery, buying, and measurement varying across broadcasters and platforms.
You can view our definition of CTV here.
FreeWheel opened the session with a presentation focused on how agencies are approaching CTV amid growing complexity and commercial pressure.
The presentation centred on:
Education remained a key theme, particularly in helping agencies:
Overall, CTV was positioned as a strong opportunity, provided the industry can align on consistent measurement and clearer value frameworks.
A central focus of the workshop was discussion around a proposed CTV measurement framework from IAB Europe, structured around must-have, should-have, and nice-to-have elements.
The discussion resulted in agreement that:
The discussion underscored the importance of balancing technical capability with practical adoption, ensuring the framework supports consistency while remaining flexible for different advertiser goals.
To close the session, EGTA provided a concise broadcaster perspective, emphasising the importance of alignment across the industry as CTV activity increases.
The key takeaway from the presentation was the need to ensure that any new measurement or reporting approaches are developed within a unified framework, helping to avoid further fragmentation across broadcasters, platforms, and markets.
This point reinforced the broader workshop discussion around the value of consistency and shared standards in supporting trust, comparability, and scalability in CTV.
The workshop concluded with agreement on the following next steps:
As CTV continues to scale across Europe, collaboration across agencies, broadcasters, platforms, and industry bodies remains essential. This second workshop marked another important step towards a shared approach to CTV measurement and transparency.
Looking ahead, we will continue this work through the CTV Working Group, bringing together stakeholders from across the ecosystem to further shape and refine the proposed framework ahead of the public comment phase.
Agencies, broadcasters, and media owners interested in contributing to upcoming workshops or learning more about this work are encouraged to get involved. To find out more or to express interest in participating, please contact our Industry Development & Insights Director, Marie-Clare, at puffett [at] iabeuorpe.eu for more information.
While 2026 is already well underway, we wanted to take a moment to reflect on the great work achieved through the Transparency & Consent Framework (TCF) in 2025, and to share what’s coming up next and how you can get involved. From continued ecosystem collaboration to meaningful progress on transparency and trust, 2025 marked an important year for the TCF. As we look ahead, it’s set to be an exciting year for the Framework, and we can’t wait to take you on this journey with us.
A clearer path forward with TCF v2.3
In 2025, we released TCF Version 2.3, a significant evolution of the Framework designed to clarify vendor disclosure. The update introduces a mandatory disclosed vendors segment in the TC String, giving vendors greater legal certainty around whether they were shown to users in CMP interfaces. A transition period is now underway, running until 28th February, after which all newly created TC Strings must comply with v2.3, marking a major step forward for transparency and trust across the ecosystem.
Read more in our article here.
Enhanced Device Storage & Operational Disclosures
Another important milestone was the update to the Device Storage Duration and Operational Disclosures specification. This update strengthens transparency by enabling vendors to provide clearer, more comprehensive disclosures around cookies and other storage mechanisms, including for non-TCF purposes and for Special Purposes. Vendors are also required to declare their SDK package identifiers for mobile environments where applicable. These changes support transparency for end-users and TCF participants..
Find out more here.
TCF Compliance Report
In order to provide the TCF Community with enhanced transparency over the functioning of the Compliance Programmes, IAB Europe has published last year its first annual report for 2024. The report presents the auditing mechanisms put in place by IAB Europe to monitor compliance of participants with the TCF Policies, the number of TCF participants that have been audited in 2024 and key findings from the TCF Compliance team. Stay tuned for the 2025 report that will be published in the coming months!
Find out more here.
As we move further into 2026, several developments will shape the next phase of the TCF.
The rollout of TCF v2.3 continues, with ecosystem participants expected to finalise technical updates ahead of the 1st March compliance deadline. Ensuring systems can correctly write, read, and process the disclosed vendors segment will be a key priority as adoption accelerates.
In parallel, an important regulatory milestone was reached earlier this month, when IAB Europe won its appeal against the Belgian Data Protection Authority’s (APD) January 2023 decision on the TCF. The Belgian Market Court found that the APD’s decision to validate the action plan was legally flawed and annulled it accordingly. As a result, the Belgian Data Protection Authority will now be required to take a new decision that reflects the narrower scope of IAB Europe’s joint controllership, as determined by both the European Court of Justice and the Market Court.
IAB Europe will continue to keep the market informed as the matter returns to the APD for further proceedings. Together, these developments support the continued development of a more transparent, robust, and sustainable Framework in the year ahead, and we’re looking forward to working closely with our community to continue its success in 2026.
For more information on the TCF, our work, and how you can get involved, please contact the team at framework [at] iabeurope.eu.
As Retail & Commerce Media continues to mature across Europe, 2026 is already shaping up to be a defining year for the ecosystem. To start the year strong, our first Retail Media Spotlight of 2026 brings together the latest standards, tools, training, and thought leadership from across our Retail & Commerce Media Committee.
This edition marks the launch of two major industry releases, designed to tackle some of Retail Media’s most persistent challenges: measurement consistency and creative complexity. Alongside these updates, you’ll find new opportunities to build skills, engage with peers, and stay ahead of the trends shaping Retail and Commerce Media investment in the year ahead.
Measurement remains one of the biggest barriers to growth in Retail & Commerce Media, and we’re tackling it head-on. The newly released Commerce (Incl. Retail) Media Measurement Standards V2 deliver clearer definitions, a streamlined measurement funnel, and robust guidance on incrementality, new-to-brand, and sales reporting. Shaped by real-world industry feedback, the standards drive greater consistency and comparability across retailers and markets, helping unlock more confident, measurable commerce media investment.
Bring the standards to life with ourRetail Media Certification Programme. Retailers and ad tech partners can demonstrate audited compliance with our measurement standards, giving buyers greater confidence and transparency. A six-month transition period allows compliance with either V1 or V2 measurement standards until the end of July 2026, making now the ideal time to start your certification journey.
For more information, follow the link below, or contact us at retailmediastandards@iabeurope.eu.
Creative complexity is slowing Retail Media down, and our new Flexi Ad Sizes Guidelinesare here to fix it. Developed with Tesco Media, the guidance introduces four flexible aspect ratios for static display ads and is designed to work seamlessly across screens and environments. The result? Faster activation, fewer custom builds, and access to bigger budgets, without sacrificing creativity.
Get up to speed with Retail Media by joining our Retail Media Essentialsonline training on Thursday, 5th March. This interactive, online course covers the core building blocks of Retail Media, from ecosystem fundamentals and omnichannel strategy to measurement best practices. Ideal for brands, agencies, retailers, and ad tech professionals looking to turn insight into action in 2026.
As a member, you’re entitled to a 20% discount. Contact the team at communication [at] iabeurope.eu for more details.
To support media buyers in navigating the Retail and Commerce Media landscape, we’ve released the latest and most up-to-date edition of our Pan-European Retailer Digital Advertising Capability Map. Now including 27 retailers, it provides a clear and comprehensive view of retailer advertising capabilities across Europe.
Mark your calendar for 21st April at 14:00 CET when the highly anticipated virtual edition of our Great Debate: Retail Media returns. Join industry leaders for Oxford-style debates, interactive panels, and spotlight sessions tackling the biggest questions in Retail & Commerce Media today. Keep your eyes peeled for more details coming soon here, and secure your spot below.
This week, we announced the re-election of Jason Wescott (WPP Media) and Patricia Grundmann (BVDW) as Chair and Vice-Chair of our Retail & Commerce Media Committee for a further two-year term. First appointed in January 2024, they have led major progress, including pan-European Retail Media Measurement Standards, the Retail Media Certification programme, and the Retail Media Impact Summit. In their new term, they will continue driving collaboration, standards, and growth across Europe’s Retail & Commerce Media ecosystem.
What’s next for Retail & Commerce Media? Our latest Q&A blog dives into the biggest strategic shifts shaping the year ahead. From measurement and media formats to data, AI, and ecosystem expectations, Committee members share practical insights and predictions you won’t want to miss.
Driving Measurement Clarity and Scalable Activation Across Retail & Commerce Media
Brussels, Belgium, 22nd January, 2026 - IAB Europe, the leading association for the digital advertising and marketing industry, has released two significant new resources designed to accelerate the maturity, scalability, and effectiveness of Retail & Commerce Media across Europe:
As Retail and Commerce Media investment continues to grow, advertisers, agencies, retailers, and ad tech providers are increasingly aligned on the need for consistent measurement frameworks and scalable creative solutions. IAB Europe’s latest guidance, developed with the Retail & Commerce Media Committee and our Retailer Leaders Council, aims to support this next phase of growth by addressing two of the sector’s most pressing challenges: how performance is measured and how creative is delivered at scale.
Commerce (Incl. Retail) Media Measurement Standards V2
Originally published in April 2024, the IAB Europe Retail Media Measurement Standards have now been updated following a public comment period from September to November 2025. The revised standards, now titled the IAB Europe Commerce Media Measurement Standards V2, reflect extensive industry feedback and the expanding scope of commerce-driven media.
The updated standards introduce several key enhancements, including:
The guidance also reinforces that a 30-day lookback window is the default for reporting, while still requiring retailers and ad tech providers to offer flexible, customisable options. Looking ahead, IAB Europe plans to expand the standards beyond quick commerce, with future editions set to include travel and finance media networks in 2026.
“Our research shows that a lack of standardisation remains the biggest barrier to Retail and Commerce Media growth,” said Jason Wescott, Global Head of Commerce Solutions at WPP Media & Chair of IAB Europe’s Retail & Commerce Media Committee. “The updated measurement standards are a direct response to this challenge, bringing greater clarity, consistency, and comparability to commerce media measurement, while still allowing the flexibility needed to reflect different business models and market maturity.”
To support real-world adoption, the standards are further underpinned by IAB Europe’s Retail Media Certification Programme, which enables retailers and ad tech partners to demonstrate audited compliance with the measurement standards. There is a six‑month grace period during which retailers and ad tech partners may comply with either V1 or V2 of the standards. This transition window runs until the end of July 2026.
Flexi Ad Sizes Guidelines
Alongside the measurement standards, IAB Europe is also introducing new Flexi Ad Sizes Guidelines for Retail Media Networks, designed to reduce the complexity caused by fragmented and non-standard ad formats across Retail Media.
Developed in collaboration with Tesco Media, the guidance recommends a set of four flexible aspect ratios for static display ads, designed to work seamlessly across devices.
The approach aims to reduce operational complexity, unlock broader budgets, and improve the customer experience, while preserving flexibility for innovation.
Commenting on the guidelines, Steve Shepherd, Head of Media Strategy & Consulting, Tesco Media, said,“It’s been great to work with IAB Europe and other retailers on the retail media flexible ad-size creative format. Aligning on a shared industry approach is critical to help retail media mature and scale. Ultimately, this new format will make creative easier to build and deploy across devices and, most importantly, deliver a better experience for shoppers.”
Both resources reflect IAB Europe’s ongoing commitment to collaboration, transparency, and practical standards that support the growth of Retail & Commerce Media across the ecosystem.
The updated Commerce Media Measurement Standards V2 and Flexi Ad Sizes Guidelinesare available on IAB Europe’s website. You can also access the FAQ document here.
To learn more about IAB Europe’s Retail & Commerce Media work and how to get involved, visit the Retail Media Hub or contact Marie-Clare Puffett at puffett [at] iabeurope.eu.
Brussels, Belgium, 20th January, 2026 - IAB Europe is delighted to announce that Jason Wescott and Patricia Grundmann have been re-elected as Chair and Vice-Chair of the IAB Europe Retail & Commerce Media Committee for the next two-year term.
Jason Wescott, Global Head of Commerce Solutions at WPP Media, and Patricia Grundmann, Chairwoman of Retail Media Circle, Bundesverband Digitale Wirtschaft (BVDW) e.V. and Vice President Media & Retail Media, Managing Director OBI First Media Group, were first elected to their leadership roles in January 2024. Under their guidance, the Committee has delivered significant progress in advancing pan-European definitions, standards, and industry resources that strengthen the Retail & Commerce Media ecosystem.
During their first term, Jason and Patricia delivered several landmark initiatives, including the launch of pan-European Retail Media Measurement Standards, progress on IAB Europe’s Retail Media Certification programme, and the successful delivery of the Retail Media Impact Summit. The Committee also grew its membership, welcoming new retailers, platforms, and technology partners to further enhance cross-industry collaboration.
In their new term, Jason and Patricia will continue to lead the Committee’s efforts to support cross-stakeholder initiatives, drive market understanding, and further develop frameworks that help the Retail and Commerce Media sector scale and thrive across Europe.
Jason Wescott, Chair of the Retail & Commerce Media Committee, commented, “I’m grateful to the committee members for re‑electing me as Chair; it’s a privilege to continue this work for another two years alongside Vice-Chair, Patricia Grundmann, and the fantastic team at IAB Europe. With collaboration, energy, and diligence, our committee will continue to raise the bar—driving trusted measurement, convening the industry at our Impact Summit, and delivering insights that create business value.”
Patricia Grundmann, Vice-Chair of the Committee, added, "I am honoured to have been re-elected to my role as Vice-Chair of the IAB Europe Retail & Commerce Media Committee. The progress we have made in our first term – particularly with pan-European measurement standards and the growth of our community – is a testament to our excellent collaboration. I look forward to continuing our efforts alongside Jason and the entire IAB Europe team to further scale and drive the success of the Retail and Commerce Media sector across Europe."
The Retail & Commerce Media Committee brings together leading retailers and Retail and Commerce Media businesses from across Europe to collaborate on definitions, guidelines, capability maps, measurement frameworks, and thought leadership. Members have already contributed to landmark resources, including pan-European definitions, the first industry-association-led Retailer Digital Advertising Capability Map, and Retail Media Measurement Standards, all available via the Retail Media Hub.
For more information about the Committee’s work and how to get involved, please contact IAB Europe’s Industry Development & Insights Director, Marie-Clare Puffett at puffett [at] iabeurope.eu.
Jason Wescott, Global Head of Commerce Solutions at WPP Media
Jason, a luminary in Global Commerce at GroupM, possesses a dynamic 15-year journey, spanning b2b sales, E-Commerce, and Retail Media.
As the former European E-Commerce lead for Hasbro, he seamlessly transitioned his expertise to pivotal senior Commerce roles at Publicis Groupe and now WPP’s GroupM.
Jason's fervour lies in crafting global growth strategies that seamlessly integrate people, data, and AdTech. His client engagements have included Colgate-Palmolive, Amazon, Samsung, P&G, HP, Disney, and Vodafone.
Patricia GrundmannVP of Retail Media, MD OBI First Media Group
As an experienced leader in the retail media sector, Patricia has helped to build up and manage the OBI First Media Group over the past 6 years. First as Lead, as Head of, then as Director and currently as Vice President Retail Media and Managing Director, the topics of Business Strategy & Development, Product Development, Marketing and Leadership are close to her heart.
Before joining OBI, she was Head of Business Development & Partner Management at OTTO Group / shopping 24. For more than 3.5 years was Team Lead Sales & Marketing for moebel.de Einrichten & Wohnen AG, a subsidiary of ProSiebenSat1. She was able to develop her passion for the topics of communication, innovation and transformation as well as her passion for brands and people as co-founder of a consulting firm for ideation.
More than two-thirds of European digital advertising leaders expect investment or revenue to increase over the next 12 months
Report calls for clearer measurement frameworks and more unified approaches across digital advertising
Brussels, Belgium, 15th January, 2026 - IAB Europe has today released its inaugural Attitudes to Digital Advertising Report, offering a comprehensive snapshot of a European digital advertising ecosystem that is growing in scale and sophistication, while continuing to face structural and operational challenges.
Building on more than a decade of insights from the long-running Attitudes to Programmatic Advertising study, the new report expands its scope to reflect the reality of today’s market, spanning display, video, Connected TV (CTV), and digital audio. The findings show an industry that is maturing and diversifying, but where progress is uneven across channels, formats, and stakeholder groups.
The survey was developed by IAB Europe’s Advertising and Media Committee and received over 170 responses between October and November 2025. Participants included advertisers, agencies, ad tech companies, and publishers, representing pan-European and global-with-European-remit roles, as well as professionals operating across more than 25 individual markets.
The findings of the report highlight a digital advertising landscape that continues to expand and mature, but where progress is uneven and structural challenges persist. As investment grows and emerging channels accelerate, the need for greater standardisation, clearer measurement frameworks, and improved operational consistency becomes increasingly urgent across the ecosystem - priorities that sit at the heart of the work of IAB Europe’s Advertising & Media Committee.
Key Findings from the Report:
Commenting on the findings of the report, IAB Europe’s Industry Development & Insights Director, Marie-Clare Puffett, said, “This report shows an industry that continues to grow, but where fragmentation is holding progress back. As investment increases and new channels scale, clearer measurement and more unified approaches will be essential. Addressing these challenges will require collaboration across the ecosystem to build trust, consistency, and long-term confidence in digital advertising.”
Wayne Tassie, Chair of IAB Europe’s Advertising & Media Committee, added, “Building on more than a decade of programmatic research, this expanded study captures the realities of today’s market, from growing investment in CTV and Retail Media to the accelerating impact of AI. By bringing together perspectives from across the ecosystem, it offers a clear and balanced view of where the industry stands, while reinforcing collaboration and supporting the continued growth and maturity of digital advertising across Europe.”
The findings of the report will inform and shape the ongoing work of IAB Europe’s Advertising and Media Committee, helping to guide future initiatives, best practices, and industry collaboration.
The full report can be downloaded from IAB Europe’s website here.
To find out more about our work and how you can get involved, please get in touch with our Industry Development & Insights Director, Marie-Clare Puffett at puffett [at] iabeurope.eu.
For all press enquiries, please contact IAB Europe’s Marketing & Communications Director, Lauren Wakefield at wakefield [at] iabeurope.eu.
An industry initiative from IAB Europe's Addressability & Measurement Working Group
The advertising ecosystem is in the middle of a structural shift. Signal loss, evolving regulation, and new technical constraints have pushed the industry to rethink how addressability, activation, measurement, and optimisation actually work in a privacy-first world. At the same time, the number of available solutions (both ID and ID-less) has grown rapidly, often faster than shared understanding.
Within the Addressability & Measurement Working Group (AMWG), we are tackling this problem by building a comprehensive Solution Mapping, a practical landscape that maps products and companies to concrete addressability and measurement use cases across the advertising lifecycle.
The AMWG Solution Mapping Matrix is designed to answer a simple but critical question: which solutions support which use cases?
With input from the Working Group, we finalised a shared set of use cases across five key areas:
These range from familiar capabilities like audience activation, contextual targeting, and campaign reporting, to more complex and emerging areas such as clean room–based planning, federated learning infrastructure, probabilistic cohorts, attention measurement, and machine-learning model training systems.Using this agreed-upon framework, we have already drafted an initial matrix for ID-less solutions. We are now applying the exact same use-case framework to ID-based solutions, so that the industry can compare approaches on a like-for-like basis.
Across committees, markets, and conversations, we see the same challenge: a lack of shared, practical knowledge about available solutions, the problems they solve, and how they are used, which slows adoption, creates confusion for publishers, advertisers, agencies, and platforms under growing regulatory and technical pressure, and this is why this work builds on the Addressability & Measurement Solutions Report to turn insights into something tangible and usable.
By grounding the discussion in clearly defined use cases, the Solution Mapping Matrix aims to:
Once both the ID and ID-less matrices are complete, the Working Group will:
Please review the shared document and add your company/products in the “ID Matrix” tab, selecting the appropriate use-case checkboxes. Examples are already included to guide you.
The deadline to participate is Friday, 6th February.
Your contribution will directly shape how the industry understands and advances addressability and measurement in a privacy-first era.
Specifically, we are looking for your help to add your company and/or products to the ID Matrix and select the relevant use-case checkboxes that your solution supports.
For additional information and questions, please reach out to:
Marie-Clare Puffett puffett [at] iabeurope.eu
Lucio Gagliardi gagliardi [at] iabeurope.eu
Brussels, Belgium, 9th January 2026 – IAB Europe welcomes the announcement by IAB Tech Lab of its Agentic Roadmap for Digital Advertising, unveiled on 6th January 2026.
As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly embedded across the digital advertising value chain, shared frameworks that support interoperability, transparency, and responsible innovation will be indispensable. The Tech Lab initiative reflects growing industry interest in enabling more intelligent, automated interactions across buying, selling, and measurement environments, while maintaining trust, accountability, and choice.
IAB Europe has long supported the development of open, collaborative standards that help the market evolve in a way that works for advertisers, publishers, technology providers, and users alike. The industry already benefits from a strong foundation of shared, globally adopted standards. Initiatives that explore how agent-based systems can operate within a standards-based ecosystem build on this foundation. They provide a pragmatic and sustainable space for experimentation and learning for the industry, while strengthening the ecosystem through existing infrastructure.
As agent-enabled approaches develop, ensuring that advertiser and publisher intent can be expressed clearly and interpreted consistently across the open internet will remain a critical foundation for scalable, trustworthy automation.
“We see agentic technologies as part of a broader evolution in digital advertising”, said Townsend Feehan, IAB Europe CEO. “What matters most is that innovation continues to be guided by openness, interoperability, and respect for existing market structures and regulatory expectations - which latter will be conditioned by Europe’s AI Act and implementing measures. Constructive dialogue and coordination across initiatives will be key.”
IAB Europe looks forward to continued engagement with Tech Lab and the wider ecosystem as these discussions progress, and to contributing European market perspectives to the ongoing exploration of agentic workflows.
About IAB Europe
IAB Europe is the European-level association for the digital marketing and advertising ecosystem. Through its membership of national IABs and media, technology and marketing companies, its mission is to lead political representation and promote industry collaboration to deliver frameworks, standards and industry programmes that enable businesses to thrive in the European market
Brussels, Belgium - 9th January 2026: IAB Europe welcomes the ruling of the Belgian Market Court (part of the Brussels Court of Appeal) in relation to its appeal against the January 2023 decision by the Belgian Data Protection Authority (APD), which had validated IAB Europe’s action plan and triggered a 6-month timeframe for its implementation.
Because several measures proposed in the action plan stemmed from the APD’s assumption that IAB Europe acted not only as a joint controller for the processing of TC Strings but also for subsequent data processing - which was overturned by the Market Court’s prior ruling of 14 May 2025 - IAB Europe challenged the scope of the validation, which required implementation of modifications to the TCF outside the perimeter of its controllership.
The Market Court has now agreed with IAB Europe, finding that the APD’s decision to validate the action plan was legally flawed and annulling it accordingly. As a result, the APD will now have to take a new decision reflecting the narrower scope of IAB Europe’s joint controllership, as determined by both the European Court of Justice and the Market Court itself.
In addition, the Market Court found that the APD had violated IAB Europe’s right to be heard by adopting its decision of January 2023 without permitting IAB Europe to take position on it.
“We welcome this ruling by the Market Court and its clear confirmation of IAB Europe’s limited role in the TCF”, said Townsend Feehan, IAB Europe’s CEO. “It shows that several orders of the APD’s decision of February 2022 went too far, and that the scope of the decision of January 2023 was also too broad as a result. The ruling provides an opportunity for a reset, and we look forward to an exchange with the APD on the action plan as well as on the future evolution of the TCF, for the benefit of both users and TCF participants.”
Finally, the complainants who initiated the proceedings against the TCF had also appealed the APD’s decision to validate the action plan, arguing that they should have been involved in the procedure. The Market Court rejected these claims as unfounded.
An updated FAQ on the case may be consulted on IAB Europe's website here. IAB Europe will continue to keep the market updated on the case as the matter returns to the APD for further proceedings.
IAB Europe is launching a suite of market intelligence services that deliver data and analysis on major issues facing the digital advertising ecosystem in Europe. The new products are an extension of IAB Europe’s established role, providing data and insight through the widely regarded AdEx Benchmark Report. As the leading European-level association for the digital marketing and advertising ecosystem, IAB Europe has the market position and industry reputation to launch a compelling portfolio of services. We are looking for a digital marketer who has experience bringing B2B subscription products to market. This person should understand user journeys, website UX, and conversion tactics to help drive a successful launch in May 2026.
Scope of the role
Feeding into IAB Europe’s Marcoms team, the Marketing Consultant will bring their expertise in conversion marketing to develop the collateral needed to sell these services to customers in the digital advertising ecosystem and beyond. We are looking for someone to shape the tactics and create the copy across channels, including: the content and IA of the pages on IAB Europe’s website, product one-pagers, and templates for social media posts.
Expected project period: January-April 2026
Specific tasks
Qualifications
The ideal candidate will have previous experience in a similar role and possess the following criteria:
Location
The position is fully remote.
About IAB Europe
IAB Europe is a European-level industry association of national federations and corporate members active in digital advertising and marketing. Its mission is to promote Europe’s digital advertising & marketing industry through policy advocacy and the development of legal compliance tools and business standards, helping to ensure that advertising continues to finance a rich universe of online content & services, including independent media, that is accessible on terms that all citizens can afford. Through its direct corporate membership and that of its national federations, it represents some 3,000-4,000 companies across the advertising ecosystems, from advertisers and agencies to adtech vendors, publishers, broadcasters, eCommerce platforms, and retailers.
Submission of application
Interested candidates are invited to submit their CV, salary expectations and a cover letter to Amy Mazzola, Marketing & Events Director, IAB Europe - mazzola [at] iabeurope.eu
